Jul072014

The pending home sales index is up 6.1% in May. Vehicle sales rose 1.24% to an annual rate of 16.98 million for June. The ISM index slowed to a steady 55.3 in June. Construction spending rose 0.1% in May. Factory orders fell 0.5% in May. The economy added 288,000 jobs in June, and the unemployment rate fell to 6.1%. The U.S. international trade deficit narrowed by $2.8 billion (5.9%) to $44.4 billion in May. The ISM services index slowed slightly to 56.0 for June. Initial jobless claims rose 2,000 to 315,000 for the week ended 6/28.

• The pending home sales index is up 6.1% for May.

• Vehicle sales rose 1.24% to an annual rate of 16.98 million for June. Over the year, sales are up 6.92%.

• The ISM index slowed to a steady 55.3 in June.

• Construction spending rose 0.1% in May. Over the year, spending is up 6.6%.

• Factory orders fell 0.5% in May.

• The economy added 288,000 jobs in June, and the unemployment rate fell to 6.1%. The net revision for the past two months was up 29,000. Private jobs rose 262,000, and government jobs are up 26,000. The labor force participation rate remained unchanged at 62.8% for the third month in a row. The employment-to-population ratio is little changed at 59.0%. The number of unemployed persons fell by 325,000 to 9.5 million and the long-term unemployed fell by 293,000 to 3.1 million.

• The U.S. international trade deficit narrowed by $2.8 billion (5.9%) to $44.4 billion in May. Exports were up 1.0% and imports fell 0.3%.